**Unofficial Tyre Thread**

[Rroff]

Good for snow. Not going to work well on ice…. I haven’t found a review which compares ice traction/braking… not even sure how well a winter tyre would, I’d think you’d need studded tyres if it’s really polished!

They only compare snow performance. Which is fine, if you know this. If you get a fresh dumping or if it’s slushy the performance is great.

The issue in the UK is the poorly cleared side roads as you’ve found out becoming compacted and then lots of freeze/thaw turning into sheet ice over several days.

Edit, you say wouldn’t grip very well (but they did have grip), and still maintained control. Want to go and repeat the test with summer tyres and report back?

Yeah - all seasons are usually loads better than touring/summer tyres on snow but only a bit better on ice - if you hit proper ice (and in some cases slush) you are going to need decent winter tyres to stay composed.

 

[ChrisD.]

Even proper winter tyre struggle on pure ice, you need studs for that really.

 

[ShiWarrior]

That's the thing I twigged on tho. All the marketing gumph makes out they're like snow tyres for all season, but actually they're just run of the mill (non budget) all seasons that are good but not excellent at wet/snow. The marketing makes them sound like proper winter tyres that do summer, too.

There clearly not though?

They are summer tyres with winter properties

It's an emergency get you home tyre


Then there's winter all season tyres, then winter tyres, then nordic winter tyres

 

[dlockers]

So no better than UHP tyres for 99% of the year then?

Actually worse than a bunch of them, too.

 

[Berger]

The answer with it all seems to be “it depends”.

Where are you most likely to require or use the limit or above of the tyre; this is more likely to occur in poor weather conditions (rain, snow, ice).

And then choose a tyre type accordingly.

Easy to throw trash talk around based on opinions not facts which have been formed by yourself or read online written by others.

The tyre test data is available on any good tyre website and in all circumstances buying a high quality brand results in a safer more predictable tyre than a budget version of the same.

 

[dlockers]

Easy to throw trash talk around based on opinions not facts which have been formed by yourself or read online written by others.

The tyre test data is available on any good tyre website and in all circumstances buying a high quality brand results in a safer more predictable tyre than a budget version of the same.

Trash talk? lol

And yes the tyre test data confirms that the sUpEr dUpEr SUMMER BUT WINTER tyre is a load of marketing nonesense. It is on par with regular all seasons but marketed as some revolution in tyre making - purely so Michelin can blag that it is a winter tyre for markets that mandate them during the colder months.

 

[Rroff]

Even proper winter tyre struggle on pure ice, you need studs for that really.

True - somehow I've managed to dodge any proper ice for years now - despite having to drive on often untreated roads any time.

One of our van drivers got it up a hill, with a fair bit of weight in the back, with a bit of wheel spin the other morning apparently where a lot of other people were failing, despite being on a mix of tyres not in the best of conditions (or maybe that helped). I've not actually encountered anything close to ice of any note so far with this cold snap.

 

[Berger]

Trash talk? lol

And yes the tyre test data confirms that the sUpEr dUpEr SUMMER BUT WINTER tyre is a load of marketing nonesense. It is on par with regular all seasons but marketed as some revolution in tyre making - purely so Michelin can blag that it is a winter tyre for markets that mandate them during the colder months.

You keep saying this, but I’m really not sure what your perspective is or what point you are trying to make?

They are as good as or better than the competitor tyres in the all season tyre market which is beneficial for some areas of the UK.

We’ve had a few people post with them fitted who have been pleased with their snow performance and one person caught out by some icey conditions. Given the snow will be gone by the weekend I’d say they have had a net benefit to those persons.

 

[Armageus]

Given the snow will be gone by the weekend I’d say they have had a net benefit to those persons.

But equally if they'd fitted the latest Michelin Pilot Sport, Goodyear F1 Asymmetric, or Conti Sport Contact, then they'd likely have had a net benefit too

 

[dlockers]

You keep saying this, but I’m really not sure what your perspective is or what point you are trying to make?

They are as good as or better than the competitor tyres in the all season tyre market which is beneficial for some areas of the UK.

We’ve had a few people post with them fitted who have been pleased with their snow performance and one person caught out by some icey conditions. Given the snow will be gone by the weekend I’d say they have had a net benefit to those persons.

Well firstly it is a discussion forum - so putting your head above the parapet to have a discussion is kind of the point, no? What point are you making other than reinforcing my point that these tyres are being marketed as something they are really not ('on par with all seasons')?

My perspective is "lol, I can't believe people have fallen for this marketing". The write-ups read like absolute cringe. The EVO article is particularly LOL.

I only learned about the tyres in GD where folk were boasting about having these uber duper tyres that will surely conquer this snowy weather we are having. I then learnt it was even more dangerous as Michelin themselves have got certification as a winter tyre. Folk seem to think they've bought a unicorn tyre that does everything (because the marketing is written that way). It is dangerous.

 

[Greebo]

up to £100 off 4 Michelins at costco atm plus up to £100 cash back from Michelin on top.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Even proper winter tyre struggle on pure ice, you need studs for that really.

Yup, and in deep wet slushy conditions too. Winter tyres will only get you so far. I don’t bother in the south of the Uk, if it snows enough for them I’ll work at home and the rest of the time I’m not fussed about the performance loss of summer tyres. Its only been cold enough for them here for a couple of weeks and next week it moved back into summer range again.

When I worked in the northern US states it was a different story with regular snow storms and highs rarely above zero for months.

I’d get them if I was further north in England or Scotland.

I’m still scratching my head over which summer tyre to go for next season to replace my worn set.
4 plus alignment is going to cost. Probably the new contisports through etyres or Asda tyres, whichever works out cheaper.

 

[Rroff]

Well firstly it is a discussion forum - so putting your head above the parapet to have a discussion is kind of the point, no? What point are you making other than reinforcing my point that these tyres are being marketed as something they are really not ('on par with all seasons')?

My perspective is "lol, I can't believe people have fallen for this marketing". The write-ups read like absolute cringe. The EVO article is particularly LOL.

I only learned about the tyres in GD where folk were boasting about having these uber duper tyres that will surely conquer this snowy weather we are having. I then learnt it was even more dangerous as Michelin themselves have got certification as a winter tyre. Folk seem to think they've bought a unicorn tyre that does everything (because the marketing is written that way). It is dangerous.

They will definitely give you better chances on ice and far better capabilities on snow than summer tyres without the compromises of a winter tyre even if not as good as top performance summer tyres. A lot of the rest will come down to the skill and experience of the driver.

There aren't many all-season tyres which have as good balance.

EDIT: I'm a little concerned as to people's perceptions of them in regard to ice though - all-seasons are not ice tyres though they may cope better than summer tyres in some cases by a significant amount.

 

[Rroff]

I don’t bother in the south of the Uk

It is a bit of a headache for me as in the south 99.9999% of the time I don't need winter/all-season tyres but that <1% of the time I do there is no real substitute to not having them and it does happen as with work/life I do have to be able to drive in any conditions and any time of day or night.

 

[dale1uk]

The Cross Climate 2s I've got fitted on my F20 M135i have been excellent during this cold snap. My wife's Octavia, fitted with PS5s, has struggled getting off our estate, yet mine has had no issues. In similar conditions my old 130i, fitted with Goodyear Supersports, struggled to make it 2m from my house. I run the CC2 purely as a "winter" tyre and will be refitting a full set of Supersports around March time.

 

[bimbleuk]

First week of proper cold weather and as above I have confidence with my Michelin CC2s. Previously ran winter tyres on another set of wheels but for the light snow and cold damp conditions the CC2s are a good choice. Instant TC of my EV won't allow any wheel spin even on hard packed snow but I can allow some slip for getting moving out of soft snow.

 

[ChrisD.]

That combined with the instant traction control of an EV means stamping your foot on hard packed snow has no wheel spin. Can allow some slip though to get moving in the wors

Why on Earth would you want to stamp your foot down on snow?

 

[bimbleuk]

Why on Earth would you want to stamp your foot down on snow?

For a test of course. I wanted to see how the EV TC handled the conditions. Result was no perceptible wheel spin.

 

[wingman]

My recently purchased E70 X5 has ditch finders on every corner so obviously looking to get them off asap.

Hadn't realised before I purchased the car, caveat emptor an all that, that BMW recommend "star" rated tyres which I'd never heard of prior. Especially important on staggered set ups, like mine, due to transfer box wear/grinding - apparently.

Now I will say that there's none of that present in 250 miles of driving with the non-star marked tyres currently, and I'd much prefer to throw some Michelin Latitude 3s on all four corners than P Zero star, as they're runflats (as are all the star marked ratings), and I'll do anything to avoid runflats unless, of course, it's going to damage the car.

I seem to be going round in circles online with some folk suggesting it's absolutely fine to not have star rated, whilst others saying your transfer box will eat itself within ten minutes if you don't get star rated tyres.

Can anyone help or advise please?

 

[Greebo]

My recently purchased E70 X5 has ditch finders on every corner so obviously looking to get them off asap.

Hadn't realised before I purchased the car, caveat emptor an all that, that BMW recommend "star" rated tyres which I'd never heard of prior. Especially important on staggered set ups, like mine, due to transfer box wear/grinding - apparently.

Now I will say that there's none of that present in 250 miles of driving with the non-star marked tyres currently, and I'd much prefer to throw some Michelin Latitude 3s on all four corners than P Zero star, as they're runflats (as are all the star marked ratings), and I'll do anything to avoid runflats unless, of course, it's going to damage the car.

I seem to be going round in circles online with some folk suggesting it's absolutely fine to not have star rated, whilst others saying your transfer box will eat itself within ten minutes if you don't get star rated tyres.

Can anyone help or advise please?

AFAIK there are very few star marked winter tyres for the x5 and BMW dealers will happily sell you winter alloys with non starred winter tyres on so don't know how that works. I am currently running non offset winter alloys with none starred winter tyres on them on my x5. A BMW dealer will sell you General Grabber AT3 wheels and tyres and I am pretty sure they dont come in bmw * format.

Smells fishy to me on the transfer box.

* marked BMW tyres are definitely different to normal tyres and they have performance differences but first time I have heard that not fitting them means your transfer box will destroy itself. You only have to check ebay for bmw wheels with winter tyres on to see that every conceivable winter tyre has been fitted to x5s at some point, and a lot of them arent runflats either.